Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Association

Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Association

WMBA Political Advocacy

Q: What is the difference between a PAC and a Conduit?

PAC: A political action committee (PAC) is any political committee which receives contributions or makes disbursements for the purpose of influencing the election of candidates. PACs are often sponsored by trade associations, labor unions or corporations. PAC contributions are determined by a PAC Board of Trustees made up of association members.

Conduit: A conduit is NOT a PAC. A conduit is a political program that allows associations such as the WMBA to permit individual members to contribute AND authorize their individual conduit dollars to political candidates of their choice. A political contribution from a conduit member’s account is determined by the individual conduit member.

What is the WMBA PAC?

WMBA PAC stands for WMBA Political Action Committee. A PAC is a legal means by which interested individuals with common goals, like a trade association, band together for the purposes of political action.

What does WMBA PAC do?

As a Mortgage Lending professional, WMBA PAC is your PAC. It is the Mortgage Lending industries vehicle for political success. WMBA Member Representative volunteers raise voluntary contributions from other members across the state. These funds are then pooled together and contributed on a nonpartisan basis to candidates for public office who support Mortgage Lending interests.

Why should WMBA PAC interest you?

WMBA PAC is a very important business partner to Mortgage Lenders because it means legislative success. Up to 2,000 bills are introduced each session in the state legislature. WMBA PAC helps elect the people who write laws you and your business must live with. Through extensive research and ongoing monitoring, WMBA PAC keeps you informed, involved, and influential in the legislative decisions that are important to you and your business.

Does the WMBA PC buy votes?

NO! but it does give us access. Candidates and public officials are honorable people whose votes are not for sale. But, by helping elect public policy decision-makers, WMBA PAC assure Mortgage Lenders the opportunity to present our views and be heard. WMBA PAC fully complies with all state and federal election laws.

Facts About WMBA PAC:

All fundraising efforts and contributions to candidates are administered by a board of WMBA PAC Trustees, representing each local chapter and all areas of the state.

PAC funds are disbursed on a nonpartisan basis to Democrats and Republicans alike, based on issues and priorities of the legislative agenda.

In the 2016 election cycle, WMBA PAC had a 90% success rate in state legislative elections the PAC participated in.

What is the WMBA Conduit?

The WMBA Conduit is the political direct giver program for WMBA members to control their political contributions that is administered on their behalf by the WMBA.

How does the WMBA Conduit work

A contribution to the WMBA Conduit is like putting money into your personal political bank account. The contribution must be made through a personal check or credit card made payable to “WMBA Conduit”. Your conduit balance is pooled with other WMBA members’ accounts, and can only be used toward a political candidate’s campaign after you have personally authorized your account funds.

How do I authorize my conduit dollars to a candidate?

As a WMBA Conduit participant, you are free to contribute to any state legislative or executive candidate. To do so, simply email the conduit administrator at wmba@morgandata.com and request your funds to be released to the candidate. Please be sure to indicate the specific dollar amount you would like to contribute. On occasion, the WMBA Administrator may email you to request your funds be sent to specific candidates. You are under no obligation to agree to release those funds. If you agree to authorize your conduit dollars to that candidate, simply reply to the email with “yes”. If you prefer not to authorize, reply with “no”.

Does the WMBA Conduit buy votes?

NO! but it does give us access. Candidates and public officials are honorable people whose votes are not for sale. But, by helping elect public policy decision-makers, WMBA Conduit assure Mortgage Lenders the opportunity to present our views and be heard. WMBA Conduit fully complies with all state and federal election laws

All contributors must be a United States citizen or permanent resident alien to contribute. You also must contribute using your own personal funds and cannot be reimbursed by another individual or corporation or otherwise use corporate funds. Contributions are not tax deductible for income tax purposes and, due to state and federal campaign finance regulations, may be publicly disclosed. WMBA conduit contributor authorizes their contribution into the WMBA conduit to be “disclosed to select WMBA members for recognition purposes”.